


I'll be There (With Open Arms and Open Eyes)

by devilduckieee



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Driving, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-15
Updated: 2015-08-15
Packaged: 2018-04-14 19:20:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4576674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/devilduckieee/pseuds/devilduckieee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Taxi/Uber/Lyft au where Lexa keeps picking Clarke up from various places, but always bringing her back to the same point.</p>
<p>Experimental fluff piece that wouldn't let me not write it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll be There (With Open Arms and Open Eyes)

> The glove compartment is inaccurately named, and everybody knows it. So I’m proposing a swift orderly change.

It was an impulsive decision, made while drowning in emotions she never wanted, out of a life that had always been orderly and well thought out. Lexa had needed to escape the life she had known because…everything had Costia permeating everywhere. Her nine to five had her pictures everywhere, and pitying looks from the co-workers that had overheard a frantic phone call full of confusion and fear, but mostly panic. Her life had been so intricately wound with Costia’s that the thought that she could be so instantly removed shut her brain down. The call from the police, or was it the hospital, set her into shock. Only getting to the hospital on autopilot, she remained on autopilot when Costia didn’t pull through. Everything had felt numb. Lexa took to sleeping in her car and only eating out. The only time she would enter their apartment was in the early morning, without turning any lights on, so that she couldn’t see the photos of what would never be again. She refused to be reminded of the part of her that had been removed with a rusty and dull blade.

Anya, her friend, had tracked her down eventually ,and upon seeing Lexa sleeping in her car, proceeded to annoyingly beat on the window until the alarm went off. Lexa had scowled, but allowed Anya to drag her across the city to the loft she lived in. Lexa became a reluctant roommate. Somewhat reluctant. Anya’s loft was gorgeous with exposed brick and a view of the river, Anya’s presence wasn’t horrible either. She was a quiet and steady presence. A lifeboat in the stormy sea that Lexa’s life had become. Lexa was able to gain some footing and realized she needed a fresh start. 

So she quit her job and took up the offer from an old family friend to become a driver. Gustus operated a transportation company called Grndr, where people could call up for or use an app to request a ride. After being chained to expectations and a desk her entire life, the thought of driving throughout the city and exploring all of its nooks and crannies seemed freeing. Lexa had moved to the city with Costia, and they never explored much. They kept to their neighborhood that had their university and their respective places of employment. Driving random people to random places she’d never seen seemed like a wonderful escape from everything she had once known. 

The early morning shift was her favorite. People consistently paid and tipped, for one thing. She didn’t have to deal with the drunk people leaving the varied drinking establishments, doing ungodly things in her back seat. Mornings were quiet. There was less traffic, and her human customers tended to be quiet due to nursing hangovers or having not truly woken up yet. Lexa relished not having to partake in the tedious task of small talk. 

Everything changed the moment she picked up Clarke Griffin.

The woman with messy blonde hair was bouncing on one foot while simultaneously trying to button up her shirt and put on her other shoe when Lexa pulled up. Lexa was only two blocks away when her phone notified her of the request for pick up. She noticed the slight coloration that bloomed on Clarke’s cheeks as she blinked at Lexa’s car, covered in the tribal patterns that indicated it was a Grndr vehicle. It was an overcast day, but Clarke’s hair seemed to shine like some sort of beacon. She didn’t have time to think about what the beacon was for, as Clarke had opened up the passenger door, crawled in and looked at Lexa with a smile. Lexa was used to picking up gorgeous people. It was a regular occurrence in such a large metropolis, Lexa had always appreciated the various forms of beauty that came with all colors, shapes and sizes, but she had a job and they’d be gone after a moment anyway. But this person seemed different.

Clarke’s smile was dazzling and Lexa had never seen anything as blue as this woman’s eyes. Lexa was so thrown that it wasn’t until after she had dropped Clarke off at her destination that she realized she had allowed Clarke to sit in the passenger seat. Which was something that not only was forbidden by company policy, but the audacity of which was something that tended to make Lexa rage and refuse service to individuals assuming it’d be fine. It was only one ride. Lexa forgave herself, but went to pick up some liquid caffeine just in case. It wouldn’t do to be so distracted while driving.

When the sun came out later that day, the sky couldn’t even compare to the blue seared into Lexa’s brain.

> Standing at a light switch to each east and west horizon, Every dawn you're surprising, And the evening was consoling, Saying, "See, it wasn't quite as bad as"

The day got off to a frustrating start for Lexa. She normally loves the city when it rains. Especially the early mornings, where the lights from the night before haven’t switched off yet and they reflect up off the asphalt. She’d never admit to it, but driving around in the pre-dawn hours with the rain slicked ground reflecting the various neon lights of the city made her feel like she was driving on the Rainbow Road from Mario Kart. She’d never really been into video games, but there was something about pretending to be an animated character racing around a ridiculous track that required her to play it whenever it was offered.

That morning, the rain wasn’t a positive for Lexa. The sky had been too dark, and when her alarm ceased to go off because of a power outage (her phone had died as well, having stayed up too late reading a far too captivating piece of fiction through completion on it), her inner alarm clock didn’t go off until she was supposed to be out the door and in her car. The perks of being a driver meant that she didn’t have to clock in or anything, but it threw her off. The toaster then proceeded to burn her bagel. Lexa has never met a more temperamental piece of appliance, and there was no predictable way to prevent the thing from burning or undercooking whatever you put into it. She’d been trying to get Anya to get her girlfriend, Raven (a crazy brilliant engineer) to fix the thing. But the last thing that happens when Raven’s in their loft is talking, so, Lexa wasn’t too shocked that the toaster had yet to be fixed. 

Lexa wasn’t really one to be superstitious, but when she stepped out of the building she lived in and slipped on the steps leading down to the sidewalk, she probably should’ve taken it as a sign to call in sick. She had thought about it, but the thought of driving on her rainbow road was enough to keep her progressing through her day. 

Her phone, having charged up by being plugged into her car as she drove for coffee, alerted her to a request for pick up. It was a sufficient enough distraction from her having just changed to the emergency backup shirt she kept in a duffel bag in the trunk of her car. The lid on her first cup of coffee wasn’t secure when the barista handed it to her, and it proceeded to spill its contents all over Lexa. The second cup of coffee was free, and it was accompanied by a free blueberry muffin. Lexa hated blueberries, but she was done with the day before it had even started and just did not want to tempt anything further, so she took the muffin and placed it in the empty cup holder next to her very secure coffee. 

The name on the request struck a familiar chord in Lexa’s head, but she couldn’t place it. She had some regulars; people she drove to work every morning, but other than that repeats weren’t all that common. Lexa couldn’t remember why the name Clarke Griffin would sound so familiar to her, until she pulled up in front of a different building in a different part of town, and saw a rain-soaked, but still familiar, blonde head of hair. It was when Clarke crawled into the passenger seat that Lexa became absolutely sure that she remembered this woman. 

“It’s you.” Clarke’s voice was rough to Lexa’s years, but enchanting. Clarke looked at Lexa with a tilted head. The blue of her irises were a different shade of blue than Lexa remembered, but that could’ve just been because of the redness that surrounded them.

“It is.” Lexa nodded, acknowledging that she remembered Clarke as well. She wouldn’t presume to know this stranger’s life, or make assumptions based on contexts of meetings, but there was something there. Lexa had a feeling like Clarke’s morning had been just as bad as her own, perhaps even worse if she’d been willingly standing in the pouring rain, at five in the morning, bawling her eyes red. She wasn’t about to start up a conversation though, especially after the way things had been going. So Lexa pulled away from the curb and started the drive, once again forgetting to tell Clarke that she wasn’t allowed in the passenger seat.

“Is blueberry your favorite too?” Clarke’s question broke through the silence of the drive. The silence hadn’t been awkward, both of them seemed to enjoy the soft soothing sound of tires flicking up the water from the road up and splashing the undercarriage of the car. Lexa briefly took her eyes off of the road to look at Clarke, who was looking at her drink holder. 

“Would you like my muffin?” Lexa brought her eyes back to the road in front of her. She wasn’t a fan of looking away from the road, especially when she had a client, doubly so when it was raining. People had a tendency to become even more idiotic when it rained. Lexa had completely forgotten about the muffin.

“I most definitely would not be opposed.” There seemed to be a lilt of laughter in Clarke’s voice. Lexa flicked her eyes over to Clarke in confusion and saw amusement and a raised eyebrow. Lexa scrunched her brows in confusion and returned her concentration to the road.

“It’s all yours.” Lexa looked over her shoulder and switched lanes, “I don’t like blueberries, but wasn’t in the mood to argue about a free muffin while drenched in coffee.”

“Oh, right, yeah. Thanks.” It sounded like Clarke bit back a chuckle, but Lexa still didn’t know what was so funny. Lexa saw a hand, with nails that had the galaxy on them, reach and pick up the muffin from the holder. “Sounds like your day is going as well as mine.”

“I have considered the fact that I should have called in sick.” Lexa nodded and sent a wry smile over to her passenger. She pulled up to the curb of Clarke’s destination.

“I’m glad you didn’t.” Clarke leaned over and placed a kiss on Lexa’s cheek, then opened the door and stepped out of the car. Before she closed the door, she left Lexa with a goodbye, “You’re the best thing to happen to me in a while.”

Ten minutes after Clarke closed the door, Lexa was still idling by the same curb, it sunk in that she’d let Clarke sit in the passenger seat again, but her day had definitely turned around.

> You're riding with me tonight. Passenger side, lighting the sky. Always the first star that I find.

It was rare, but sometimes Lexa needed to cover the night shift. Either it was due to a personal favor for Gustus, or it was just a need to be out of the loft as a personal favor to herself and Anya. Tonight it was a combination of a favor for Gustus and Anya, as well as a favor to herself. It’d been years since Costia was taken from this world and Lexa had actually managed to heal in a somewhat healthy manner. She kept to herself mostly, but would sometimes allow herself to be dragged out by Anya and Raven. Things were never typical on an outing with them; it was nice to experience life with a surreal twist on it.

Anya was an event planner. The project she’d been working on for months would finally come to completion that evening, so she’d been out of the loft all day. Lexa decided to do some spring cleaning. Not that the loft ever got messy. Clutter in an open floor plan became an instant eye-sore, and both residents had a decisive nature that prevented them from allowing clutter in their living space. But making sure clothes were put away and dishes cleaned was one thing, dusting and vacuuming and polishing all of their wooden furniture was a different beast. She put on her 60s/70s/80s hits station and got to work. Lexa found it easier to get through the monotony of chores if she could sing while doing them. She blames the animated movies she watched as a child for this. 

Lexa was about done with everything, and went to put some out of place thing up on the shelf in the hall closet. It wouldn't fit on the shelf, but she could tell by looking at the box that it should easily have room on the shelf. She went and got a chair to stand on so she could see what was blocking her from finishing her chores. Sitting there unassumingly on the shelf, hidden in the back corner so as to be forgotten, was a worn down shoe box. Lexa's heart clenched, her throat suddenly felt constricted, it was her box of Costia. She grabbed for it with shaky hands and cradled it in her arms as she took it to the couch. 

It probably wasn't a good idea, but she couldn't help herself. She'd moved on, built herself back up into an independent person who could exist without part of her heart, but Lexa doubted that she'd ever be completely unaffected by the contents within the shoebox. She took off the lid, placed it on the coffee table, and looked down at the photographs and hand written notes within. 

The next thing Lexa was aware of was her phone ringing. It was Gustus' ringtone, and he only called her when it was important. She jumped at the offer of filling in for a driver who had to call in sick at the last minute. It wouldn't serve her well to remain in that loft alone with her memories for the rest of the night. She needed the distraction of city streets and people watching, even if they were going to be mostly drunk people needing to get home after a bit too much fun. 

Lexa was about to call it a night...morning? Her shift was due to be over soon, but she mentally allowed herself just one last client. So, when the familiar name of a certain blueberry muffin loving blonde popped up, she couldn't help but let out a bark of laughter. Lexa was beginning to wonder if there was supposed to be something more between them. It was just anything but normal for Lexa to get the same person twice, let alone three times within a couple of weeks. She was going to roll with it though, just thankful to have yet another distraction after her earlier memories. 

The address she was given for the pickup was outside of a bar she'd never been to before. That wasn't overly strange, since Lexa never really was a night owl, and her usual driving shift was in the mornings. It was dark and brooding and gave off the persona of all things opposite of what Lexa had come to know about Clarke. Not that two early morning drives where she rarely spoke was a proper gage of personality and circumstances, but the exterior of the bar just did not seem to fit. She pulled up to the curb out front. It was the first time she didn't immediately see Clarke waiting for her. Lexa waited, she knew it sometimes took a couple of minutes for people to exit establishments, especially when there's been alcohol. After five minutes, however, Lexa's patience began to wear thin. She reduced possible situations for the lack of client down to two: Clarke forgot to cancel when she got a ride with someone else, or perhaps she was still partying inside. Lexa turned on her hazard lights, got out of the car, locked it and went to head inside. 

A flicker of golden light caught the corner of her eye before she opened the door to the bar. It was just enough to draw her attention; she looked over and found Clarke. There were two brunettes, of seemingly different genders, currently attached to her neck via mouth. Lexa didn't hold any sort of biases towards people who expressed their desires in ways other than the perceived cultural norm, but she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the situation. Clarke looked bored. Lexa stood and watched for a moment as Clarke connected the back of her head with the brick wall of the building. The street light illuminated the features of her face just enough for Lexa to see as Clarke rolled her eyes, and not in a sexy feelings kind of way, but it was the sighed exhale of air to blow a stray strand of hair out of her face that really confirmed it. 

"Clarke." Lexa laughed out. It was a single laugh out of incredulousness, but she quickly schooled her expression and bit her lip to prevent herself from smiling as the three individuals all suddenly looked in her direction.

"Oh, thank fuck." Clarke didn't even bother to mumble. She pushed the two figures off of her with a, "Ride's here, bye." Then walked straight up to Lexa with a smile, "Fancy meeting you here."

"Indeed." Lexa's lip quivered with restrained laughter, which Clarke seemed to notice if the sudden smirk was any indication. She led Clarke to the car and opened the passenger door for her. "Shall we?"

"Yeah, but can you take the long way? I'm not ready to be home, especially now that I've got you to keep me company."

Lexa was glad she decided to take just one more customer that night, though she didn't end up charging Clarke. They were both in need of the comfort of company. Lexa just drove. She drove and she drove, past the outskirts of the city, past the suburbs and into the countryside. Where there were no distracting lights. She opened her sunroof for Clarke to see the stars that seemed to be held in her own eyes. They only turned around when the sky started bleeding into the grayish-purple that warned about the dawn's upcoming appearance.

They were wide awake. Lexa couldn't remember the last time she had felt so alive. It was definitely before Costia's death, but it felt amazing. When Clarke started to sing, _Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose. Nothin’, don’t mean nothin’ honey if it ain’t free. And feelin’ good was easy, Lord, when he sang the blues. You know, feelin’ good was good enough for me…_

Lexa's soul sang along to the most heart breaking and beautiful sound she'd ever heard. It felt scary, and freeing and painful. It felt like taking the first breath after having been caught in a riptide she wasn't sure she'd live through.

> My heart is yours to fill or burst, to break or bury, or wear as jewelry. Whichever you prefer.

In the end of the beginning of the future, it wasn’t even twenty four hours after Lexa dropped Clarke off. (She had noticed that Clarke always seemed to return to the same point. Lexa secretly hoped to become that point.) When her phone flickered to life for a pick up request, she accepted and saw Clarke’s name, with the address where Lexa last dropped her off. Lexa couldn’t help but smile.

She weaved through the city streets as fast as she could. Clarke was waiting outside, leaning against her front door in sweatpants and a tank top, her feet bare and her hair everywhere. Lexa parked her car, got out and ran up to Clarke. 

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this.” Lexa joked.

“Seriously, you don’t know how many drivers I just sent away. I eventually had to give in and call your boss directly.” Clarke huffed out.

“Really?” Lexa blinked.

“Gustus is adorably protective.” Clarke grinned.

“Well, now that you’ve got me, what do you need?” Her smile hurt, but Lexa didn’t have a care in the world.

“First: your phone number, because I don’t want anyone else to give me a ride ever again.” Clarke held an index finger out, then raised another to join it, “breakfast and coffee, because fuck this is too early to be awake and sober.” Lexa laughed at Clarke’s scrunched nose. Clarke held up a third finger, “lastly, and definitely the most important, you.”

“Do you mind if we go in reverse order?” Lexa asked as she leaned forward, waiting just long enough to get a nod.

If hearing Clarke sing was like breathing, then kissing Clarke was like coming home.

**Author's Note:**

> Songs in order of appearance:  
> Title from [Incubus - Drive](https://youtu.be/fgT9zGkiLig)  
> [Death Cab for Cutie - Title and Registration](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XmbvfxMiUE)  
> [Modest Mouse - Dashboard](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=penvn9VL32Y)  
> [Guster - Satellite](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekt6PELAcEg)  
> [Janis Joplin - Me and Bobby McGee](https://youtu.be/sfjon-ZTqzU)  
> [Dashboard Confessional - Hands Down](https://youtu.be/kVN2b0DdZAQ)  
> ...what year is this? idk. whatever. tone is tone and feels are feels. FEELZ.


End file.
